02/11/2020
We get the question “what are poffertjes?” quite a lot. Besides delicious? These mini Dutch pancakes (pronounced pauf-er-jees) are a traditional Dutch treat and popular street food in Netherlands. They are made with buckwheat flour and yeast, cooked on a cast iron cooker with little round wells, and served with butter and stoop (pronounced strope). The name poffertjes comes from the fact that they puff up when cooked due to the yeast in the batter.
Fun history fact: Dutch monks used to make them for communal offerings with wheat flour but when there was a shortage of flour from France during the Napoleonic Wars they switched to the more available buckwheat flour. While some places today use a mix of wheat and buckwheat flour, we use only buckwheat flour in ours that not only gives them their unique spongy texture but also makes them gluten free! Yay!
We absolutely love Amsterdam and the Netherlands and after several trips over there we were inspired to bring these tasty little pancakes to Cleveland! Keep an eye out for event updates to find out where to try these unique treats!
